Music to Edit By….

Music nurtures creativity and many writers incorporate music into their writing routines.  I know some who listen to show tunes, classical music or just their favorite mix while they write. I know a certain crime writer who listens to opera, and a chick lit author who states her best writing happens when she blasts ear-shattering acid rock through her headphones.  Everyone is different.   

I don’t listen to music while I write, preferring the sound of fingers to keyboard.  However, I do typically listen to music of the specific time period I am visiting before writing to get me in the mood.  Most recently my selections have been from the 1930’s and I have discovered a new appreciation for Eddie Cantor, Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith.  But modern music, or even music from the past thirty years, hasn’t played much of a role in my writing process.  Until recently.

Bessie Smith-I Need a Little Sugar in my Bowl  

I am now in the editing process of my novel, Ragtown, which is set during the 1930’s.  I am to the point where I have certain scenes that I am trying to get ‘just right’.  Last week while in the car, I was thinking of a specific scene that didn’t build the way I wanted it to.  Then Michael Jackson and KKLZ 96.3 saved me. As I sang along to “Will You Be There” I realized that was exactly the beat I wanted my scene to take: the crescendo leading to an amazing climax.  I went home, dug out my old Dangerous CD, and sat down to edit. It was just the example, and in this particular song the inspiration, I needed.  The scene is now just as it should be.   

Lucky for me, I am a lover of all types of music, which has played well into my latest editing technique.  I now have scenes that I have edited while listening to Martina McBride’s “Independence Day,” Gladys Knight’s “Midnight Train to Georgia” and Guns & Roses “Welcome to the Jungle.” (Yep, that’s how I roll)

Will You Be There (okay, so I like whales, too) 

I DARE you not to feel it at the 2:35 mark

I doubt that I will ever change my routine during the writing process for fear of using anachronistic phrases that the lyrics might inspire.  I don’t want my 1930’s ragdoll referring to her love interest as ‘her boo’ nor do I want my protagonist referring to himself as the ‘real slim shady.’

But for editing, anything is game: as long as it has the right beat.   

What do you listen to while writing/editing?